Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Notes Payable - Narrative (Details)

v3.19.3.a.u2

Notes Payable - Narrative (Details) - Term Loan - 2019 Term Loan - USD ($)		3 Months Ended	5 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Debt instrument term (in years)	6 months
Debt instrument face amount	$ 450,000,000.0
Debt instrument maturity date	Oct. 30, 2019
Repayment of borrowings		$ 450,000,000.0
LIBOR
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Base rate component, spread on variable rate (percent)			1.00%
Basis point component of interest rate at Company's election (percent)			1.00%
LIBOR \| Minimum
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (percent)			0.75%
LIBOR \| Maximum
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (percent)			1.65%
Base Rate \| Minimum
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (percent)			0.00%
Base Rate \| Maximum
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (percent)			0.65%
Federal Funds Rate
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Base rate component, spread on variable rate (percent)			0.50%

- Definition

Percentage points added to the reference rate to compute the variable rate on the debt instrument.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentBasisSpreadOnVariableRate1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775744&loc=d3e28551-108399

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 55
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775985&loc=d3e28878-108400

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(2))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (bbb)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=117815213&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentMaturityDate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Period of time between issuance and maturity of debt instrument, in PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentTerm
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The cash outflow for a borrowing having initial term of repayment within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 15
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3291-108585

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RepaymentsOfShortTermDebt
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ShortTermDebtLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Debt Instrument, Base Rate Component, Basis Spread on Variable Rate

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	wre_DebtInstrumentBaseRateComponentBasisSpreadOnVariableRate
Namespace Prefix:	wre_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Debt Instrument, Interest Rate During Period, Basis Points On Variable Rate

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	wre_DebtInstrumentInterestRateDuringPeriodBasisPointsOnVariableRate
Namespace Prefix:	wre_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ShortTermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_LoansPayableMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=wre_A2019TermLoanMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_VariableRateAxis=us-gaap_LondonInterbankOfferedRateLIBORMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_VariableRateAxis=us-gaap_BaseRateMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_VariableRateAxis=us-gaap_FederalFundsEffectiveSwapRateMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: